Community wildlife service is a strategy recognized by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376. The Act calls for active community participation in wildlife conservation outside protected areas. The increase in human population has lead to increased pressure on predominantly wildlife areas and encroachment onto protected areas. The absence of a land use policy for the country has led to endless sub division of wildlife dispersal areas and wildlife corridors. Since the establishment of CWS department, a lot has been done and achieved in community based wildlife conservation which is not embedded in the current legislation and hence the current challenges facing wildlife conservation and management outside protected areas.

Emerging challenges have called for a more strategic approach to the implementation of the community wildlife programme. These include, increase in human wildlife conflicts, bush meat trade, snaring of wildlife, disappearance of wildlife dispersal areas and corridors, inadequate community benefits and the need to represent a positive image for the organization. Strategies and linkages with key wildlife stakeholders have been identified to deal with these challenges.

Wildlife is mostly viewed as a source of suffering for many Kenyans. There is need to look at wildlife conservation and management from a different perspective in order to understand the value of this important tourism product. The role of wildlife in the economic development of the country needs to be communicated to the people that bear the brunt of hosting wildlife on their land.

Community wildlife conservation is based on the principle that local communities shall participate in and benefit from wildlife conservation. This approach stems from the recognition that protected areas in Kenya as a developing country will survive in so far as they address human concerns and that the future of protected areas that do not have the support of local people is insecure.

KWS has an established network through KWS offices across the country to address issues of wildlife outside the protected area system.The role of Community Wildlife Service in Kenya Wildlife Service is quite broad. Managing wildlife outside protected areas means that the unit has to interact with: members of parliament, Councilor’s, opinion leaders, rural communities, provincial administration, NGOs, Civil society, private ranchers and other relevant ministries at the grass-root level.

Provide technical advice to the government, local authorities and landowners on the best methods of wildlife conservation and management;

Rendering services to farming and ranching communities in Kenya necessary for the protection of agriculture and animal husbandry against destruction by wildlife

Facilitating wildlife census outside protected areas;

Planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of community based conservation projects;

Creating partnerships in wildlife conservation;

Establishing mechanisms to reduce human wildlife conflicts

Cross-border collaboration on wildlife management issues

Monitoring & evaluation of CWS conservation programmes and community initiatives.

To protect people and their property from injury or damage caused by wildlife.

Facilitate wildlife compensation claims

To attain these broad goals, CWS will endeavor to satisfy five major objectives. This is in recognition of the fact that wildlife represents one of Kenya’s most valuable renewal natural resources, and that KWS will combine the management of wildlife as a resource with concern for its conservation.

The five strategic approaches are:-

Promote positive human wildlife interaction

Provide policy direction, guidelines and technical support

Enlist community support for wildlife conservation

Strengthen CWS & Community capacity

In 2006, KWS established a mobile rapid response team (PAMU) which has its base at Nanyuki. This is a highly mobile unit that is dispatched to various areas within the country due to the intensity of human wildlife conflict. Currently the team has the strength of 41 personnel. The team is headed by Warden 1 with a Assistant Warden 11 as deputy. The team can be split into four teams and simultaneously deployed to high conflict zones to beef up the local PAC teams.

PAMU is a unit within the community wildlife service department established to ensure swift response to human wildlife conflict incidents within the country. The role of the rapid response team is to beef up the local problem animal control teams in all CWS stations to handle conflicts. The aim of this mobile team is to reduce significantly the number of conflicts within the country and specifically in the following identified conflict hot spots:-

Laikipia/Rumuruti

Narok/Transmara

Tsavo East & West (Taita Taveta, Rombo, Njukini)

Lamu (Mpeketoni, Witu)

Imenti South (Meru)

Amboseli

The role played by PAMU contributes to the following Strategic Objectives for Community Wildlife Service department

(SO2): Promote positive human wildlife interaction

(SO3): Promote Community support for wildlife conservation

(SO4):Strengthen CWS & community capacity

PAMU is a specialized, frontline response to human wildlife conflict within all wildlife areas in the country. PAMU continues to propel KWS in achieving an enhanced corporate image and positive public attitude towards wildlife conservation and management. The communities who host wildlife on their land and bear the brunt of human wildlife conflict are beginning to appreciate wildlife. More communities have the desire to set aside land for conservation through establishment of nature based businesses for benefits.

Human Wildlife Conflict Hot Spots Areas

Tsavo East/West

Lamu

Laikipia

Narok/Transmara

Compensation under the Wildlife and (conservation and Management) (amendment) Act herein after called ‘the Act’ is set out under section 62 which reads:- “Where any person suffers any bodily injury from or is killed by any animal, the person injured or in the case of a deceased person, any other person injured who was dependent upon him at the date of death , may make application to district committee established by this section for the award of the compensation for the injury or death’. The compensation process starts at the District level where the District Compensation Committee deliberates on legitimate cases.

Currently compensation awarded under this section shall be payable out of monies provided for this purpose. This is 50,000.00 for injuries and 200,000.00 for the loss of life cases received, considered, determined and awarded by the District compensation committees effective 1st July 2006. The District Wildlife compensation Committee comprises the following gazetted Officers as per the Cap 376 of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act. Section 62 Sub section 2:-

DC of area as Chairman

KWS officer of the area as the Secretary.

Officer Commanding Police Station (OCS)

Medical Officer of Health

MP of the area.

Chairman of the County Council

Three members appointed by the Minister.

One co-opted official appointed by the Committee.

After deliberations by the District Wildlife Compensation Committee, approved claims are forwarded to KWS HQs by the DC for compilation and submission to the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife for payment. After approval by the ministerial committee, the permanent Secretary then issues cheques to the DC of the respective areas. The DC then issues individual cheques to the claimants.In 1989, the Wildlife Conservation and Amendment Act, CAP 376 was amended vide Bill No. 16 which among others officially outlawed compensation for crops, livestock and other related (man-made) farm infrastructure.However, the Ministry has initiated a comprehensive review of CAP 376 (Wildlife Conservation and Management Act of 1989) with a view to explore sustainable options available for compensation

CWS Department

The role of Community Wildlife Service in Kenya Wildlife Service is quite broad. Managing wildlife outside parks and reserves means that the unit has to physically interact with: members of parliament, Councilor’s, opinion leaders, rural communities, provincial administration, NGOs, Civil society, private ranchers and other relevant ministries at the grass-root level.

Human wildlife conflict continues to pose a big management challenge to KWS. This is largely due to the increased human population and the lack of a national land use policy. In the current draft wildlife policy and legislation KWS is encouraging community participation and collaboration in managing wildlife resources through devolved structures. An important aspectin developing a positive value of wildlife resource is to reduce the negative aspects of wildlife on human activities. Wildlife can be compatible to a greater or lesser degree with some form of land use, particularly pastoralism and ranching. However, densely settled areas & agricultural land are not compatible with many kinds of wildlife. In response to this, KWS has deployed the following management tools to avert the negative consequences of conserving wildlife or living with wildlife resources.

Erection of electric fences and other forms of wildlife proof barriersThis barriers are erected where they serve as appropriate solution to persistent problem of damage to agricultural crops to or to property or other threats to people’s livelihoods. KWS has erected fences along the perimeter of certain parks and reserves in order to minimize human wildlife conflicts. For example lake Nakuru National Park, Northern part of Nairobi National Park, Mt. Kenya National Park and Aberdare National Park. KWS has constructed and maintains a total of KM 1225 of electrical fences nationally with KM 888 within protected areas and KM 337 outside protected areas.

The cause of human wildlife conflict is mainly the lack of a land use policy for the country. As a long-term plan, the government put in place a National Steering committee to review the existing policies and legislation for wildlife conservation in the country.

KWS also works closely with the provincial administration in dealing with the human wildlife conflict cases. Erecting and maintaining electric fences is an expensive venture. These are erected in consultation with the affected communities and funding support from the government and prospective donors.KWS also encourages communities to employ alternative methods of dealing with human wildlife conflict. Such as building of moats, trenches, natural fences using kay apple, pilipili etc

KWS - Community based initiatives includes: -

Education and Awareness Creation

There are many extension approaches/ mechanism adopted by KWS to stimulate local people to participate and benefit from wildlife conservation. This includes direct visit by community officers to the target individuals, short training courses/ workshops to sensitize and educate local people, preparation and presentation of specific wildlife related messages at Baraza’s, organize exchange visits of the target groups to various wildlife areas, use of mass media in community education and sensitization programs and building capacity of local institutions and local communities to instill a sense of ownership and responsibility of the wildlife resource. This is a continuous process bearing in mind the emerging issues in Natural Resources Management.

Social support programs

The principle is to give incentives to the local people who live in wildlife areas (dispersal area, & corridors) and who tolerate wildlife and, bear the cost of wildlife conservation. The cost borne may be in form of damage caused by wildlife or of “ opportunity costs” lost such as not cultivating, not fencing or practice incompatible land use systems.

Electric fences and other forms of wildlife proof barriers (moats, ditches etc) are but one of the strategies employed by KWS within and outside protected areas to minimize cases of human wildlife conflicts. KWS works very closely with the affected communities during formulation as well as implementation of the fencing projects for support and ownership.Fences are game prove barriers that control movement of wildlife from the protected areas to areas outside the protected area system where we have settlements and other human activities. They are also used as a security enclosure for both people and wild animals in wildlife areas. These barriers are erected where they serve as appropriate solution to persistent problem of damage to agricultural crops or to property or other threats to people’s livelihoods. KWS has erected fences along the perimeter of certain parks and reserves in order to minimize human wildlife conflicts. For example lake Nakuru National Park, Northern part of Nairobi National Park, Mt. Kenya National Park and Aberdare National Park. Currently there are about 1245 kms of fences in existence in protected and non protected areas.

Psychological Barrier (Electric fence): these are barriers that control wildlife by a wave of sharp, short, but safe shocks which is sufficiently memorable that they never forget.

Types of fencesThere are three main electric and one non-electric fence designs in wildlife areas:-

Simple Elephant fence: 5 - 8 strands of wire

Intermediate fence design:10 - 16 strands of wire.

Comprehensive fence design:4 - 8 strands of live wire and a mesh below and underground.

Chain link mesh wire fence.

Electric FencesThis is a psychological barrier using mains, or solar energy power stepped up through an energizer which is based on high energy, low impotence pulse released through the wire if touched by an animal gives a sharp short but safe shock, the power fence does not need to have physical strength because it seldom comes under pressure but it must be well designed and constructed to absorb impact of animals